lprongs's review against another edition
4.0
Most sci-fi comes from those who invade. This asks what sci-fi (futurism) looks like from those who've been invaded & lived through upheaval. A very interesting question with an interesting answer
kittthecat's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. This was a very special read for me and one that I had been looking forward to! While a couple of the stories didn’t really click with me, I was very impressed with the majority of them and found the writing and ideas beautiful.
This is something that I definitely want to reread just to let the content sink in a bit more and to give myself more of a chance to review each story since I zipped through it kind of quickly.
This is something that I definitely want to reread just to let the content sink in a bit more and to give myself more of a chance to review each story since I zipped through it kind of quickly.
sbcrra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
tamnhauser's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - admittedly, uneven in quality. The short stories here present a moment where a troubled and tormented people begin to look beyond their current situation.
With a world that continually finds its people at odds with one another for whatever reason, Iraq + 100 presents a collection of short stories that allow for some freedom in expressing how current events could, and inevitably in some way, shape the future of a country that still fears that it simply may not have a future at all.
It may not deliver on all fronts, but the importance of this book itself should not be taken lightly.
With a world that continually finds its people at odds with one another for whatever reason, Iraq + 100 presents a collection of short stories that allow for some freedom in expressing how current events could, and inevitably in some way, shape the future of a country that still fears that it simply may not have a future at all.
It may not deliver on all fronts, but the importance of this book itself should not be taken lightly.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
In the many side effects of the Trump years one that really bothers me is softening of the anger toward GW Bush and his misadventures in the middle east. One sickening aspect of the Bush years was the terrible inexcusable lack of American empathy for the people and the suffering the American invasion caused in Iraq. It is hard enough to get people to watch the news, or read the history so perhaps there is a different war.
Enter this book of stories by authors from Iraq or the Iraqi diaspora. The idea is that the stories take place in 2103 - one hundred years after the invasion. Published by Tor I was excited as soon as I saw this not only because I wanted stories about this theme, but I also was hoping to discover Iraqi genre writers.
Sadly I don’t think there is an Iraqi SF scene, in the way I was envisioning. Some of these writers use surrealism, or the fantastic, but I don’t think there is an Iraqi scene per se. With each story, I would flip back to the author bios, all respected writers and filmmakers. A few seemed more than comfortable using genre tropes but mostly the 100 years plus prompt was excellent for kick starting these excellent writers imagination.
This is an above average collection of science fiction, not just because of the quality and yes all the stories are worth reading. In the text of the stories different cities are represented, different parts of Iraqi culture and all with an eye for the long range effects of war. There are a couple of the stories that I think are stand-outs and we should talk about them.
My favorite stories included. The Gardens of Babylon by Hassan Blasim, The Corporal by Ali Bader, Kuszib by Hassan Abdulrazzak, Najufa by Ibrahim Al-Marashi
Written by the editor of the collection wrote the Gardens of Babylon, a story with a slight Philip K. Dick vibes. A game designer is haunted by the past and after taking a hallucinogenic drug the past comes alive. The story has excellent vibes and weird tone that made it one of the coolest feelings. It also is the story with some of the best world-building. This moment spoke to me. “No one can deny the ingenuity of the giant domes. Each district is a circular space like a giant sports ground, roofed over with smart glass dome that absorbs the sunlight, which is the main source of energy in babylon. All the districts are linked by amazing underground trains.”
This is some of the best world building in the collection, the name Iraq is gone in this story, Babylon or Mesopotamia is what the people call the region which is included in Chinese holdings. Still under colonial rule, but one where the people are offered Chinese citizenship. This makes it a rare SF story that envisions a heavily Chinese influenced future much like the Maureen Hugh classic China Mountain Zhang.
All around excellent story.
The Corporal is a fantastic story about an Iraqi soldier who despite being very in favor of the Iraq war is accidently killed by a U.S. soldier. He convinces god to send him back 100 years later as a prophet. One problem: the roles of the two societies have been reversed. “I am not sure how it happened exactly but history has taken a big turn. Just take America: now it’s an extremist state, gripped by religion.”
It is hard not to think of this story (written in 2013) as correctly forseeing a bit of the culture wars in this country. It is easy to see the MAGA heads who want this Christian great American revival as they are dragged screaming into a progressive future.
The absolute banger of the collection without a doubt Kuszib by Hassan Abdulrazzak. It has really cool world-building “Ur parked the Paradigm Hover in the vehicle dock, and the couple took the magnet capsule to Alliance City Station (in a part of town that used to be called Revolution city in the old days). “
I hate to spoil this story but the way the story unfolds is very sly. You might be mistaken at first to believe this is a vampire story. This story is the most wild of Science fiction concepts and the most effective story in every way. The story is so well written and contains so laugh out loud characters and irreverent moments. This story has gross moments, funny moments and super cool moments of creative invention.
Iraq + 100 is far from a normal Science Fiction anthology. It is important, it is a must read for fans of socially important political Science Fiction.
acrisalves's review against another edition
4.0
https://osrascunhos.com/2017/09/13/iraq-100-varios-autores/
Não se tratando de um país com tradição em ficção científica, os organizadores desta antologia convidaram uma série de escritores a apresentarem contos que se passassem no futuro. De perspectivas diversas, na sua maioria bem escritas e de boa direcção narrativa, as histórias deste volume não formam uma excelente compilação de ficção científica, ainda que algumas das histórias sejam excelentes.
Depois de uma introdução que pretende enquadrar, quer a origem da antologia, quer a cultura de onde estes contos surgem, a primeira história, Kahramana de Anoud, apresenta as reviravoltas dos refugiados. A época futura tem apenas como intuito alienar do contexto actual, mas apresenta os altos e baixos de situações semelhantes, que oscilam por conta da mediatização dada pelos meios de comunicação.
Enquanto o próximo conto, The Gardens of Babylon de Hassan Blasim cruza trabalhos literários com uma realidade futura do país sob domínio dos chineses, The Corporal de Ali Bader centra-se num soldado que regressa da morte para ver a cidade 100 anos depois da sua morte. A cidade prosperou bem como a civilização do país – a religião desapareceu e é uma sede mundial de evolução tecnológica. A reviravolta? São os EUA, sob forte domínio religioso, que se apresentam como sub-desenvolvidos, não respeitando os direitos dos seres humanos que lá habitam. Uma excelente perspectiva que parodia a religião e a figura divina.
Em Baghdad Syndrome de Zhraa Alhaboby, um homem explora a origem de uma praça em Baghdad para poder estabelecer um plano de reconstrução. Durante a sua investigação descobre que, nesta praça, já existiu uma estátua de dois amantes, uma estátua que foi desaparecendo progressivamente. Entre a progressão da doença genética que o deixará incapaz, a investigação prossegue revelando o passado de dezenas de famílias da região e dando significado a cada pedaço desaparecido da estátua.
Se Operation Daniel de Khalid Kaki nos apresenta um país governando pelos chineses em que qualquer expressão que corresponda à antiga cultura resulta na erradicação das pessoas envolvidas, Kuszib, de Hassan Abdulrazzak apresenta um planeta governado por alienígenas. O casal que acompanhamos destes alienígenas encontra-se num evento social, experimentando pela primeira vez vinho conforme era produzido antigamente, com uvas. Então de que é feito o vinho que conhecem? Sangue. De humanos. Um conto extraordinário com reviravoltas viscerais. Finalmente, em Najufa de Ibrahim Al-Marashi os antepassados continuam vivos em equipamentos informáticos, mostrando as suas memórias e pensamentos.
Entre várias perspectivas diferentes futuras do país encontramos a postura neutra dos robots que teria permitido um controlo mais correcto das fronteiras (baseada em factos concretos ao invés de etnias) as vantagens de deixar para trás a religião numa reviravolta irónica do Mundo e a exploração do passado por motivos artísticos. Esta é uma compilação com perspectivas diferentes do que usual na ficção especulativa resultando numa combinação de histórias de tom bastante díspar, mas com excelentes contos.
Não se tratando de um país com tradição em ficção científica, os organizadores desta antologia convidaram uma série de escritores a apresentarem contos que se passassem no futuro. De perspectivas diversas, na sua maioria bem escritas e de boa direcção narrativa, as histórias deste volume não formam uma excelente compilação de ficção científica, ainda que algumas das histórias sejam excelentes.
Depois de uma introdução que pretende enquadrar, quer a origem da antologia, quer a cultura de onde estes contos surgem, a primeira história, Kahramana de Anoud, apresenta as reviravoltas dos refugiados. A época futura tem apenas como intuito alienar do contexto actual, mas apresenta os altos e baixos de situações semelhantes, que oscilam por conta da mediatização dada pelos meios de comunicação.
Enquanto o próximo conto, The Gardens of Babylon de Hassan Blasim cruza trabalhos literários com uma realidade futura do país sob domínio dos chineses, The Corporal de Ali Bader centra-se num soldado que regressa da morte para ver a cidade 100 anos depois da sua morte. A cidade prosperou bem como a civilização do país – a religião desapareceu e é uma sede mundial de evolução tecnológica. A reviravolta? São os EUA, sob forte domínio religioso, que se apresentam como sub-desenvolvidos, não respeitando os direitos dos seres humanos que lá habitam. Uma excelente perspectiva que parodia a religião e a figura divina.
Em Baghdad Syndrome de Zhraa Alhaboby, um homem explora a origem de uma praça em Baghdad para poder estabelecer um plano de reconstrução. Durante a sua investigação descobre que, nesta praça, já existiu uma estátua de dois amantes, uma estátua que foi desaparecendo progressivamente. Entre a progressão da doença genética que o deixará incapaz, a investigação prossegue revelando o passado de dezenas de famílias da região e dando significado a cada pedaço desaparecido da estátua.
Se Operation Daniel de Khalid Kaki nos apresenta um país governando pelos chineses em que qualquer expressão que corresponda à antiga cultura resulta na erradicação das pessoas envolvidas, Kuszib, de Hassan Abdulrazzak apresenta um planeta governado por alienígenas. O casal que acompanhamos destes alienígenas encontra-se num evento social, experimentando pela primeira vez vinho conforme era produzido antigamente, com uvas. Então de que é feito o vinho que conhecem? Sangue. De humanos. Um conto extraordinário com reviravoltas viscerais. Finalmente, em Najufa de Ibrahim Al-Marashi os antepassados continuam vivos em equipamentos informáticos, mostrando as suas memórias e pensamentos.
Entre várias perspectivas diferentes futuras do país encontramos a postura neutra dos robots que teria permitido um controlo mais correcto das fronteiras (baseada em factos concretos ao invés de etnias) as vantagens de deixar para trás a religião numa reviravolta irónica do Mundo e a exploração do passado por motivos artísticos. Esta é uma compilação com perspectivas diferentes do que usual na ficção especulativa resultando numa combinação de histórias de tom bastante díspar, mas com excelentes contos.
rogue_leader's review against another edition
2.0
Anthologies like this are always tough because some stories are great and others....not so much. Unfortunately, there were more of the latter than the former in this one. Also, be warned, there are some view expressed in a couple of stories that are not what Westerners would call P.C.
austinbeeman's review against another edition
4.0
IRAQ +100 IS RATED 85%.
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
What will Iraq look like in the year 2103? That was the question proposed by writer/editor Hassan Blasim to Iraqi writers around the world. The result is what is being hailed as “The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq.”
Blasim is blunt about Iraqi Science Fiction in his introduction.
"Iraqi literature suffers from a dire shortage of science fiction writing. … Perhaps the most obvious reason is that science fiction was allowed to track the development of actual science from about the middle of the nineteenth century onwards. The same period was hardly a time of technological growth for Iraqis, languishing under Georgian ‘Mamluk’ then returning Ottoman overlords; indeed some would say the sun set on Iraqi science centuries before — as it set on their cultural and creative impulses— in the wake of the Abbasid Caliphate. …
Today there is great hope in a new generation, a generation native to the internet and to globalization. … Serious attempts to write science fiction have started to appear, especially not that science is so much easier to get hold of."
The future Iraq’s created by these authors are very unlike the science fictional futures traditionally presented. Aliens and robots appear, but large global movements are more important. Many imagine an Iraq still under control of another power, often China. Others imagine the United States shredded by its own religious extremists. Still more discuss extreme horrors in such a matter-of-fact way that modern readers would want to label these with a “content warning,” but I feel would insult so many that have lived with and through those horrors.
This is an offbeat and alien collection and it is for those reasons that I strongly recommend it. Thoughtful and strange visions of the future - visions that are really of the present - are what makes Science Fiction so interesting.
Two stories in this anthology really stand out:
“Baghdad Syndrome” by Zhraa Alhaboby. Trans: Emre Bennett. This is a beautiful and delicate story of an architect coming to grips with the fact that he has Bagdad Syndrome while he is designing a town square. He is haunted by exotic dreams that focus his attention on the history of the square and its former occupants. This is a bittersweet story told is crystalline prose.
“Kuszib” by Hassan Abdulrazzak. Hard. Ugly. Brutal. Extremely violent. Weirdly sexual. Angrily satirical. This intense story follows a low level employee and his wife who get the chance to take part in the Feast. The gourmet festival highlights human delicacies. Read that sentence again! A savage allegory for the kindly horrors of colonial power and pulling no punches whatsoever. You may not like this, but you will not forget it. Not a word is wasted.
***
IRAQ +100 IS RATED 85%.
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
“Kahramania” by Anoud
Good. A young woman, fleeing from an arranged marriage to a warlord, seeks asylum with the Americans and finds herself a pawns in a game of propaganda and bureaucracy.
“The Gardens of Babylon” by Hassan Blasin. Trans: Jonathan Wright
Good. An artist of video games, living in Chinese-controlled Iraqi domes, needs help from a psychedelic brain insect to find inspiration for a new work.
“The Corporal” by Ali Bader. Trans: Elisabeth Jaquette
Good. An Iraqi solider, killed by an American sniper in 2003, returns from the afterlife to experience the dramatic changes and tell his story..
“The Worker” by Diaa Jubaili. Trans: Andrew Leber
Average. The Governor of Basra uses the horrors of life elsewhere to say that the horrors his people are experiencing aren’t that bad, but there is someone else in that town square.
“The Day by Day Mosque” by Mortada Gzar. Trans: Katharine Halls
Average. 99-year-old vinegar sparks a tale of a Snot Collector and a local mosque.
“Baghdad Syndrome” by Zhraa Alhaboby. Trans: Emre Bennett
Great. An architect who is slowly becoming blind - the Baghdad Sydrome - becomes fanatically focused on his last product. To design a town square.
“Operation Daniel” by Khalid Kaki. Trans: Adam Talib
Average. A Chinese overlord censors everything about the past, but a few young people casually rebel.
“Kuszib” by Hassan Abdulrazzak.
Great. Brutal, horrible, disgusting, and brilliantly conceived. An alien couple go to a high end Feast where human delicacies are served. An unforgettable inversion of the Iraqi occupation in horrific alien allegory.
“The Here and Now Prison” by Jalal Hassan. Trans: Max Weiss
Good. The past, including the dead, exists within the Old City, but one young couple with sneak inside to experience it.
“Najufa” by Ibrahim al-Marashi.
Good. A large family of Iraqi Alaskans - now its own country - make a pilgrimage back to a Iraq that has been transformed by benevolent AI. The purpose of the trip become a very important turning moment in the family.
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
What will Iraq look like in the year 2103? That was the question proposed by writer/editor Hassan Blasim to Iraqi writers around the world. The result is what is being hailed as “The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq.”
Blasim is blunt about Iraqi Science Fiction in his introduction.
"Iraqi literature suffers from a dire shortage of science fiction writing. … Perhaps the most obvious reason is that science fiction was allowed to track the development of actual science from about the middle of the nineteenth century onwards. The same period was hardly a time of technological growth for Iraqis, languishing under Georgian ‘Mamluk’ then returning Ottoman overlords; indeed some would say the sun set on Iraqi science centuries before — as it set on their cultural and creative impulses— in the wake of the Abbasid Caliphate. …
Today there is great hope in a new generation, a generation native to the internet and to globalization. … Serious attempts to write science fiction have started to appear, especially not that science is so much easier to get hold of."
The future Iraq’s created by these authors are very unlike the science fictional futures traditionally presented. Aliens and robots appear, but large global movements are more important. Many imagine an Iraq still under control of another power, often China. Others imagine the United States shredded by its own religious extremists. Still more discuss extreme horrors in such a matter-of-fact way that modern readers would want to label these with a “content warning,” but I feel would insult so many that have lived with and through those horrors.
This is an offbeat and alien collection and it is for those reasons that I strongly recommend it. Thoughtful and strange visions of the future - visions that are really of the present - are what makes Science Fiction so interesting.
Two stories in this anthology really stand out:
“Baghdad Syndrome” by Zhraa Alhaboby. Trans: Emre Bennett. This is a beautiful and delicate story of an architect coming to grips with the fact that he has Bagdad Syndrome while he is designing a town square. He is haunted by exotic dreams that focus his attention on the history of the square and its former occupants. This is a bittersweet story told is crystalline prose.
“Kuszib” by Hassan Abdulrazzak. Hard. Ugly. Brutal. Extremely violent. Weirdly sexual. Angrily satirical. This intense story follows a low level employee and his wife who get the chance to take part in the Feast. The gourmet festival highlights human delicacies. Read that sentence again! A savage allegory for the kindly horrors of colonial power and pulling no punches whatsoever. You may not like this, but you will not forget it. Not a word is wasted.
***
IRAQ +100 IS RATED 85%.
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
“Kahramania” by Anoud
Good. A young woman, fleeing from an arranged marriage to a warlord, seeks asylum with the Americans and finds herself a pawns in a game of propaganda and bureaucracy.
“The Gardens of Babylon” by Hassan Blasin. Trans: Jonathan Wright
Good. An artist of video games, living in Chinese-controlled Iraqi domes, needs help from a psychedelic brain insect to find inspiration for a new work.
“The Corporal” by Ali Bader. Trans: Elisabeth Jaquette
Good. An Iraqi solider, killed by an American sniper in 2003, returns from the afterlife to experience the dramatic changes and tell his story..
“The Worker” by Diaa Jubaili. Trans: Andrew Leber
Average. The Governor of Basra uses the horrors of life elsewhere to say that the horrors his people are experiencing aren’t that bad, but there is someone else in that town square.
“The Day by Day Mosque” by Mortada Gzar. Trans: Katharine Halls
Average. 99-year-old vinegar sparks a tale of a Snot Collector and a local mosque.
“Baghdad Syndrome” by Zhraa Alhaboby. Trans: Emre Bennett
Great. An architect who is slowly becoming blind - the Baghdad Sydrome - becomes fanatically focused on his last product. To design a town square.
“Operation Daniel” by Khalid Kaki. Trans: Adam Talib
Average. A Chinese overlord censors everything about the past, but a few young people casually rebel.
“Kuszib” by Hassan Abdulrazzak.
Great. Brutal, horrible, disgusting, and brilliantly conceived. An alien couple go to a high end Feast where human delicacies are served. An unforgettable inversion of the Iraqi occupation in horrific alien allegory.
“The Here and Now Prison” by Jalal Hassan. Trans: Max Weiss
Good. The past, including the dead, exists within the Old City, but one young couple with sneak inside to experience it.
“Najufa” by Ibrahim al-Marashi.
Good. A large family of Iraqi Alaskans - now its own country - make a pilgrimage back to a Iraq that has been transformed by benevolent AI. The purpose of the trip become a very important turning moment in the family.
l1brarygirl's review
3.0
8/31/2017 - I love science fiction anthologies & I'm excited to see one featuring Iraqi authors!
1. Kahramana by [a:Anoud|16029747|Anoud|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★★★☆☆
2. The Gardens of Babylon by [a:Hassan Blasim|3127068|Hassan Blasim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1355846030p2/3127068.jpg] - ★★☆☆☆
Strange...
3. The Corporal by [a:Ali Bader|9886468|Ali Bader|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490174963p2/9886468.jpg] - ★★★★★
4. The Worker by [a:Diaa Jubaili|13471649|Diaa Jubaili|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471598768p2/13471649.jpg] - ★★★★☆
This one had pieces of history woven into the story, though the "present day" in 100 years was bleak..
5. The Day by Day Mosque by [a:Mortada Gzar|15993787|Mortada Gzar|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★☆☆☆☆
What??! Why are they collecting people's snot? Why do they want to reverse everything? So confusing!!
6. Baghdad Syndrome by [a:Zhraa Alhaboby|15993786|Zhraa Alhaboby|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1510262542p2/15993786.jpg] - ★★★☆☆
7. Operation Daniel by [a:Khalid Kaki|15993784|Khalid Kaki|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★★☆☆☆
8. Kuszib by [a:Hassan Abdulrazzak|3315314|Hassan Abdulrazzak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442510689p2/3315314.jpg] - ★★★★★
Horrifying !
9. The Here and Now Prison by Jalal Hassan - ★★☆☆☆
Very abrupt ending.
10. Najufa by [a:Ibrahim Al-Marashi|2853847|Ibrahim Al-Marashi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] - ★★☆☆☆
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
1. Kahramana by [a:Anoud|16029747|Anoud|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★★★☆☆
2. The Gardens of Babylon by [a:Hassan Blasim|3127068|Hassan Blasim|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1355846030p2/3127068.jpg] - ★★☆☆☆
Strange...
3. The Corporal by [a:Ali Bader|9886468|Ali Bader|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490174963p2/9886468.jpg] - ★★★★★
4. The Worker by [a:Diaa Jubaili|13471649|Diaa Jubaili|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471598768p2/13471649.jpg] - ★★★★☆
This one had pieces of history woven into the story, though the "present day" in 100 years was bleak..
5. The Day by Day Mosque by [a:Mortada Gzar|15993787|Mortada Gzar|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★☆☆☆☆
What??! Why are they collecting people's snot? Why do they want to reverse everything? So confusing!!
6. Baghdad Syndrome by [a:Zhraa Alhaboby|15993786|Zhraa Alhaboby|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1510262542p2/15993786.jpg] - ★★★☆☆
7. Operation Daniel by [a:Khalid Kaki|15993784|Khalid Kaki|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - ★★☆☆☆
8. Kuszib by [a:Hassan Abdulrazzak|3315314|Hassan Abdulrazzak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442510689p2/3315314.jpg] - ★★★★★
Horrifying !
9. The Here and Now Prison by Jalal Hassan - ★★☆☆☆
Very abrupt ending.
10. Najufa by [a:Ibrahim Al-Marashi|2853847|Ibrahim Al-Marashi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] - ★★☆☆☆
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
huskerbee's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5. The premise is great and I'm mindful that it's a kind of writing I'm not used to (and also that they've all been translated), but I just couldn't get into a lot of these stories, which felt amateurish or stilted. The attempts to look back at the Iraq of "a hundred years ago" often came about through choppy exposition.